New Drug Deletes Bad Memories

[Marnie]

Do you have a really bad memory, or past heartache, that you would prefer to forget?

Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled.

In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to "dampen" memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traumatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo.

A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma.

Similar research led by Professor Joseph LeDoux has been carried out at New York University on rats; scientists were able to remove a specific memory from the brains of rats while leaving the rest of the animals' memories intact. An amnesia drug called U0126 was administered.

The rats were trained to associate two musical tones with a mild electrical shock so that when they heard either of the tones they would brace themselves for a shock. The researchers then gave half the rats the drug when playing one of the musical tones.

After the treatment, the rats that had been given the drug no longer associated that particular tone with an imminent shock but still braced themselves upon hearing the second tone, demonstrating only one memory had been deleted.

TECHNOVELGY

[georgesbluegirl]

Ah, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

[shepherdsgrace]

I understand that this drug is supposed to be used for positive reasons. But the ways that it (and the drugs that will continue to be developed along these lines) could be used for purposes manipulative are overwhelming to contemplate.

[Scarletprayers]

I'll keep all my memory's thank you, the good and the bad..............they have all taught me something.

[Treasure]

I understand that this drug is supposed to be used for positive reasons. But the ways that it (and the drugs that will continue to be developed along these lines) could be used for purposes manipulative are overwhelming to contemplate.

I'll keep all my memory's thank you, the good and the bad..............they have all taught me something.

Doesn't everyone have at least some bad memories? My first reaction is that the implications of this could be disasterous.

[MorningGlory]

I'll keep all my memory's thank you, the good and the bad..............they have all taught me something.

Ditto.

[songbird24]

It would be great if everyone could go to Jesus and get healing for their bad memories.

[7thseal]

I guess I would have to pass on this one.....can't really remember whether I have any bad memories........

[Treasure]

I guess I would have to pass on this one.....can't really remember whether I have any bad memories........

That's a good one.

[ladypeartree]

so just how much of our memeory would have to be wiped out ? ( no I would never use it but just thinking about the implications is a bad memory in its self )

OK senario.....you witness someone close to you being killed ..you "cannot deal with it " you get this drug to help to erase the bad memory ...so do you just errase the bit where the person died if so how do you "know /explain" the death or do you erase ALL memory of that person *shudder*

senario 2.......you suffer a terrible ordeal and use the drug to help you to forget .....how do you know enough not to get into the same situation again

seario 3........the "bad memory" that you cannot deal with spans a period of several years ...how much of your life memories would you have to lose how do you "explain " those missing years

The ONLY reason I can see of using a drug such as this is for eveil ...much like the so called date rape drug where the victim cannot remember what she/he were doing for several hours after taking it